I would like to know how these bikes ride.

Please no “it climbs well and descends better”.

What’s the suspension action like, squishy and plush? Supple and supportive? poppy? One big marshmallow? What’s the bottom out vs compliance setup like for it? Can you achieve suppleness whilst not bottoming out on 5ft+ drops and hooning?

Pedalling, is it squaty under power? Is there much pedal feedback? Comfortable pedaling in the rough?

Handling, it has a long CS length, does it feel like a big elephant to ride? Is the front end poppy? Would you deem it as agile or a barge?

Strength rise, good for a bit of freeride thrashing?

You forgot to ask how it handles square edged hits and if it’s a cut and paste affair across the ruts.

Happy to help.

Mega

think there are a few owned by STWrs. also interested in their comments.

are there any changes to the 2012 frames? whats the shock like?

Corners like its on rails.

If you can work your way past the “For sale” stuff, there’s a number of building/owning threads here

I thought it would be too heavy for what I wanted, but then rebuilt a similar weight frame (Gemini) up late last year with some mid weight parts & was surprised how good the bike is.

Looks flexy.

Harsh, unresponsive and uncompliant on one hand yet flexy, forgiving with enough give in the frame for a comfortable ride. It struggles in tight singletrack and switchbacks but is extremely chuckable.

How about the square edged babies issue?

Eh?

EH?????

I have one

Thrashed it in Molini last year, can keep up with the big boys on 90% of stuff.

still good in the twisty.

I have mine pretty DH orientated. Lyrik, coil shock, avid codes

Plenty plush enough for me.

chasing my mate on his Trek DH bike
http://vimeo.com/34327557

likewise I can swap to a more xc mode with the monarch, smaller tyres etc

most capable 150mm bike I have rode… 😛

Put a Totem up front and its whistler worthy I reckon.

I absolutely love mine. Again I’ve got quite a DH-biased setup with coil Lyriks and a CCDB coil shock. In terms of trails I ride: mainly DH style trails with a combination of steep twisty rooty trails and also flowy jumpy trails.

Firstly, climbing is really good. The steep seat angle makes it very comfortable and I prefer it to my old Commencal Meta. But bear in mind I ride very few undulating trails where you have to pedal to maintain speed/flow, where I think it might struggle especially without a propedal switch on the CCDB shock.

Descending is great. Very confident and stable. I’ve set it up quite poppy and really enjoy pumping everything I can and popping of every little feature. The CS length is quite long, but it helps with stability. I find it’s definitely a bike you need a lot of body language to get the most from in the corners but it really seems to reward pushing it, when the bike comes alive.

I would definitely buy one again, as put simply it always makes me smile when I ride it!

PS I can’t comment on what it’s like with the stock shock. But with the CCDB the grip is unbelievable and is comfortable on 6ft plus drops.

Good to hear your views on the CCDB Monkey Boy,when my frame arrives that is what is going straight onto mine.

Wahey, good to see some formulated feedback.

The bike will have a dh bised build, it will pretty much used for freeride/dh, but still capable of a couple of hour loop.

What i am looking for is controlled, pertness, something that doesn’t give me a comfy sofa feeling, but a “sportiness” as it were. I don’t want to turn rough stuff into tarmac, but just the edge taken off so i can concentrate on messing about.

In terms of handling, i dont want something, dead, heavy and squishy, something with some pop, some zing, some moneoverbility.

Did someone announce a game of buzzword-bingo and I missed it?

I’m also looking for pertness, something I can pop.

druidh – that’s pretty much a full house right there in the OP

Cheers everyone 🙂

I always turn mine up to 11.

And as for the sustain, ooooooooohhhh it’s still ringing from the last time 🙂

If you’re after something with more “zing” and “pep” then check out the Covert. It’s a linkage driven single pivot so you’re very much in touch with what the rear wheel is doing. It’s a very playful bike, shove the rear end into any dip or wallow and it just propels you along.

This OP is as mad as a box of cliches.

Does it require an input of “Body English”?

T’is fun trying to describe what you want from a bike. Hopefully it’s more fun reading than “one bike to rule them all”.

Stevelol – isn’t the mega also a “linkage actuated single pivot with seatstay link” just like the covert?

It was designed to be well dialled in for ultra gonzo badness.

well thats next months AM enduro group test written, ta all.

As above, got mine with a CCDB so can’t comment on the standard shock, but love the way mine rides, certainly doesn’t wallow in my set up.

Coil front and rear and happy to take it out all day no problems, while also great on the local dh tracks.

Got a trip to Chatel booked, and can’t wait to spend a week hammering it in the Alps 😀

THV3 and Monkey Boy,what wight are you guys and what spring are you running?. It would be interesting to compare what settings you are using on your shocks too.

Thanks for any info.

It was designed to be well dialled in for ultra gonzo badness.

Just looking at mine gives me a “gonzo’s nose” 😆

a lot like an Orange Alpine? geo pretty similar, low, slack, hooligan and i haven’t noticed any lack of stiffness – rear end is so much stiffer than my old norco six (QR admittedly)
Less impressed with the shock – i find it slightly clunky, a sprung unit would no doubt sort. Make sure if you get one it has the new chainstays.

just buy it and ride the fecker. 😉

build it up lyrik stylee and yer away.

Sorry if what I wrote came across as a bit of magazine review!! I’m not the kind of person who thinks that there is THE best mountain bike. But I am really happy with the bike. I think as much as anything it fits me really well. Before buying the bike, I spent a lot of time thinking about problems with my riding and therefore what particular geometry would suit me. I’ve historically been the kinda of rider that would comfort brake at high speed, so I particularly wanted a slack/long/low BB bike and that is why I was interested in the Mega. Whether or not I’ve just been lucky or whether that logic has been correct, I am very happy with the bike and the particular setup I have, so much so that I tend to ride this bike on DH trails rather than my Session, other than those with a chairlift! I definitely feel that my riding has progressed a long way since buying this bike, which is probably partly due to the bike and also a lot due the fact I am tending to session trails more these days.

For those interested here are my CCDB settings:
Rider: 140lbs/62kg plus kit (often full face and the whole shebang!)
Spring: 350lb (as supplied)
Preload: think it was 3 turns
Sag: 30% when stood in neutral position
HSR 2.2 all from fully open (counter clockwise)
HSC 2 (might increase this a bit)
LSC 15
LSR 14

I’m sure these are not THE perfect settings. If anyone has some suggestions that’d be great.

Cheers.

I rode today with a guy on a Mega, seemed a good all round bike, jumps, drops, twisty singletrack plus of course the climbs. I think the owner kept breaking other bikes so got the Mega.

long and stable with a comparatively small cockpit due to the steeper seat angle. stiff, climbs great due to this. nowhere near as plush as 4 bar designs i’ve had with air shocks, but good enough. well pleased.